


Pleaser

by Headphone_Love



Series: TMS- Drabble City (Voltron) [4]
Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Basically if this continues Lance will proceed to make everyone love him and protect him, Bisexual Lance (Voltron), But the main couple will be Klance, Fake/Pretend Relationship, Gay Keith (Voltron), Hurt Lance (Voltron), Lance (Voltron) is a Mess, M/M, Oblivious Lance (Voltron), Pining Keith (Voltron), Possible Continuation if Enough Interest, Protective Hunk (Voltron), Protective Keith (Voltron), Protective Shiro (Voltron), Shiro and Hunk are like bros, Ten Minute Snippet
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-10
Updated: 2020-08-10
Packaged: 2021-03-06 07:28:48
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,263
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25829704
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Headphone_Love/pseuds/Headphone_Love
Summary: Lance owned a business."Hustle," Pidge corrected as Lance rolled his eyes."Same difference!"His not so business-y business was that he helps catch cheaters and get rich kids out crappy relationships.He didn’t know when it started, but hey, it helps pay for books and necessities and as a scholarship student he could use all the funds possible. It wasn’t like anyone would remember him in the big bad world of the rich.At least until he gets a job he never thought he’d be doing: fake-dating a rich CEO with a hot younger brother.And well...how could he say no to that?
Relationships: Keith & Lance (Voltron), Keith/Lance (Voltron)
Series: TMS- Drabble City (Voltron) [4]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1677292
Comments: 28
Kudos: 171





	Pleaser

**Author's Note:**

> Ten Minute Snippet: (Technically done in 30 minutes but shhhh. It was three sessions of speed typing)
> 
> Lance lives to help others and is shocked when he gets things in return.  
> This catches the eye of some powerful people and well, you know what happens in these situations.

“How could you?!”

The man standing in front of Lance looked floored, looking back and forth between his fiancee and Lance like he had been hit with a lightning bolt. His lips parted and closed over and over—Lance would have laughed if not for the situation he was in—and looked at the women before eyeing up the man again. He kept his eyes open, the tears sliding down easily as he felt his throat tighten.

Finally, after a long pause, he clenched his fists and parted his lips.

“It’s over!” 

His words proceeded to gain the attention of the entire lobby. The man was red in the face at this point, but Lance couldn’t care less. This guy wasn’t a saint by any stretch of the imagination and Lance wanted to make him suffer. 

“What? I don’t even _know_ —”

Lance held up his phone with red eyes and lips pressed into a thin line, showing the conversations as the man paled. He should get checked for that, Lance thought. 

The woman beside Lance stepped up to the man, going off in a language Lance didn’t know. It sounded cool, though, and the most important thing about it all was the slap that followed. Lance didn’t need to speak her language to understand that part. 

As the woman stomped away, Lance moved to follow while placing his phone back in his pocket. He entered the elevator, the woman also there and looking heartbroken—

—at least until the doors to the elevator shut. She offered a few sniffles, hair covering her face until she let out a deep sigh. Her shoulders relaxed as she raised her head and pushed her hair from her face. Despite how messy her make-up had become, the grin on her lips was quite obvious. Lance blinked before grinning in return and offering a wink, dropping the stoic expression completely.

“Gotta say, your performance was immaculate, my lady.”

The woman laughed and nearly tackled him, her arms around his neck as she squeezed him tightly. “Thank you, Lance.” 

Lance pushed some air from his nose and waved his free hand as if disregarding the thanks. “Anything for you, princess. So now that you caught him in the act...what now?” 

She hummed, backing away and opening her purse. “Besides calling off the wedding, perhaps I’ll go on a cruise. Find another man that isn’t as stupid and get engaged to them instead?” she suggested, handing him an envelope. 

With a large grin, Lance hummed in approval, taking the envelope and tucking it away in his tuxedo’s inner pocket. “I like the sound of that. Send pictures of the scenery,” he said before offering a side smirk. “ and I don’t mean the water.”

She shifted closer, nudging him gently and tilting her head. “Why not come along? I’m sure you’ll find a mister or misses too with your looks.”

Feeling his cheeks flush a bit, he pouted. “As tempted as I am to accompany a beautiful woman on a cruise, I can’t. Business here is booming and can’t leave my patrons all alone, now can I?” 

She chuckled, backing away as the elevator opened on her floor. She turned, holding the door so it wouldn’t close just yet. “Booming, you say? How many other people are dealing with this?” 

Lance stroked his non-existent beard and shrugged casually. “Oh, you know….a a few….”

The look on her face made Lance grin sheepishly. 

“Okay you were the last one but I’m stalling cause I have this _major_ paper and—” 

“Lance…”

Snickering, Lance shook his head.“It’s in the bag, princess. Trust me. I’m on my way to an honest living!” 

“What’s more honest than helping others?” she questioned, expression soft.

Lance felt his amusement drain, replaced with a soft appreciation. “You know what I mean, princess. A living that doesn’t involve tricking assholes and possibly getting into more trouble. I might be reckless but I try to at least be smart about it.”

“Fair,” she said with a chuckle, waving her hand. “I’ll hold you to that honest living, then! Come join me if it ever seems like too much,” she finished before allowing the elevator doors to close. Lance watched her until she was out of sight, leaning back against the elevator wall and raising a hand to the envelope he’d tucked away. With a frown, he let his hand drop and rolled his neck. He knew it wasn’t that late, but catching cheaters always took a lot out of him...especially considering how his nerves always got the best of him right before a job. On the bright side, since his school was filled with so many rich people, he didn’t do this as often as most would think. 

This was only his sixth client and due to the need to uphold reputations, the cheaters whether male or female often just wanted the whole thing to go away. Besides, rich people targeting a poor scholarship student? The poor college student that had their heartbroken over being a second choice?

The thought alone made Lance click his tongue. 

Hook, line, and sinker. 

As a plus, he played the role perfectly all things considered. 

His phone went off as he entered the lobby, going to the back exit and yawning. 

“Yeah, yeah, Pidgeotto, I’m on my way back now. Just got out of work,” Lance began, pausing before smiling wide. “Sure, I’ll pick you up your sweets. Meet tomorrow?”

* * *

School was brutal after his job considering that he had yet _another_ paper he had written in one night. His grades were a lot better than they had been when he was in high school, but they were required to be. He missed the days of high school where he just showed up and was given a B. Now, with his GPA needing to be perfect, he couldn’t risk handing in things late or not at all. 

It was why he was decompressing in the lounge to his dorm after his three classes.

“Jesus, for someone that has a 20 step skincare routine, you look like shit.”

Lance looked up to see Pidge staring at him with a frown, brow raised in a way that reminded Lance of his sister. 

“It’s 10 but nice to see you too, Pidge. What’s up?” he asked as he sat up and leaned back in his chair. His body ached for movement considering he’d been slouched over for god knows how long. Pidge sat across from him, pulling out her laptop and causing Lance to wonder if there was ever a time she didn’t have the thing with her. 

Then again, if there was anyone who deserved to be in this school for smarts, it was Pidge. Even though most thought she only got in because of her parents and brother, Lance knew the truth. 

“Nothing much. Rumor has it Allura broke off her engagement. That wouldn’t have anything to do with you…” Pidge asked as she ceased typing, slamming her enter key a bit more than usual. “Would it?” 

Lance began to sweat, laughing and waving a hand while he crossed his legs and leaned against his chair sideways. “Wha~t? Me? How could I ever—”

“I can’t _believe_ you did that,” Pidge said with a shake of her head. 

Pouting, Lance huffed. "If you knew the answer why'd you even ask?"

“You said you would stop the side hustle. You know that these people can send people after you or do background checks on you, right?” she warned with a deep sigh. “To think I thought you got an honest job and wanted to celebrate."

Taking a moment, Lance sighed deeply and grabbed his bag from the chair beside him. 

“Lance, answer me. Do you know how dangerous this could get?”

It sounded dramatic in Lance's head. He was a college student who got into 'relationships' that happened to involve him being cheated on and exposing said crappy people. It wasn't as if anyone knew he was paid to approach the jerks.

Without a word, Lance pulled out four envelopes, each of them pristine and thin. Pidge eyed them in confusion, shaking her head as if waiting for him to say something. 

“Open them,” Lance said easily, pushing them forward. 

With a roll of her eyes at the dramatics, she took them and flipped the first over. Her eyes immediately seared into the envelope. Lance knew exactly what she was looking at, enjoying how when she pulled out the contents her eyes went even wider. 

“Seal of Zarkon and a check straight from Lotor. Impressive.”

Lance waited, the reaction getting even more and more amusing with each letter. When she got to the final one, however, she slammed her hands down on the table as Lance curled away from her, eyes wide. 

“As nice as these numbers are, you have more than enough now!” Pidge insisted. “You can stop before you get in too deep, Lance.”

“Oh c’mon Pidge. Live a little! You saw the letters. Not only am I anonymous and a nobody,” Lance explained, standing and waving his hands to explain. “But I am only somebody to those who need me. They were in bad situations and I had a way to help them. Plus it isn’t like the people that I caught cheating knew I was hired arms! They just thought I was some poor kid they could use and it backfired. If anything it is their fault!”

“But Lance—”

“I get it,” Lance promised. “I really do, and I am so thankful you care about me enough to warn me,” he said softly. “And you know I value your input more than anyone else at this school. But if it isn’t broken why should I fix it? They get out of loveless marriages and I get paid and can continue to go to school.”

“If you needed help you could have just asked us,” Pidge said quietly. “You already know my dad adores you because of how much you’ve helped Matt and me.”

Lance shut his eyes, placing his hands on his hips. “I know. But there is a difference between a handout and working for it,” he said. “What would make me different from anyone else if I just used you for that? You’re my friend. That’s all I need.”

Pidge sulked, plopping back into her chair. “Apparently not,” she said as Lance chuckled and walked around the table to hug her despite her protests. 

“It is a fact! I don’t need you to do anything but care about me the way you are now. It means so much more than the checks ever could,” he said sincerely. “These help me now, but I know you’ll help me always. And know that I will do the same for you.”

“Really?” Pidge said in surprise, no longer struggling against his grip. 

“Hell yeah,” Lance said confidently. “No one can break us apart, Pidgeotto.” 

“Unless they hunt you down,” Pidge pointed out as Lance groaned. 

“Just when I thought there was progress,” Lance sighed out as he collected the envelopes and placed them back in his bag. He had already cashed the first three, the fourth from Allura having been done that morning and placed away safely, but he enjoyed keeping the handwritten letters as a confidence booster whenever he was wary of a job. He’d need to buy a steel lockbox for certain documents if he were going to continue this.

“Trust me, Pidge. If I am ever hunted down, at least you’ll know the truth,” Lance said dramatically, sitting in the chair and going limp as if he were in a telenovela. “Remember me as I was.”

“Annoying?”

“Hey, now,” Lance gasped as Pidge hummed. 

“High-maintenance?”

“I am _no—”_

“Or should I mention corny and childish?”

Lance frowned, crossing his arms. “You didn’t have to end my life before they could.”

Pidge smiled humorlessly, as she returned her attention to her laptop screen. “Oh, yes I did. Now since you are always there for me, hand over the goods.” 

Lance smiled a bit as he tossed her the candy he’d gotten her, shaking his head and leaning forward so his elbows rested on the table. One hand held his cheek as he watched her tear into a bag almost instantly. 

“And I’m the one with the problem,” Lance muttered, barely missing the sour gummy chucked in his direction.

* * *

In the movies, what was currently happening would be called comic irony...or something like that. Lance wasn't all that well versed in things like that. 

What he was well versed in was knowing when someone was following him. 

It would have been scary if they hadn't been so awful at it. It had only taken Lance all of five minutes to notice it after he left campus, the person following him around the mall and to his favorite off-campus coffee and tea shop. 

Lance felt his eye twitch, turning to see the bigger man attempting to be casual, yet he stuck out no matter what he was attempting to do. It was cute, to say the least, but Lance wasn’t exactly dumb enough to get into a business like catching cheaters without some sort of training to defend himself. Some of his funds had gone to self-defense courses despite Lotor's insistence to pay for them. 

Lotor had been the second person he'd ever met on campus as well as the first 'customer' which he would have never thought would be the case considering their first meeting being so rocky. 

Refocusing himself, Lance shut his eyes and could already hear Pidge's scolding echo in his head. What if someone did send people after him? The guy was big and while Lance could take him if he went all out, the guy seemed pretty harmless. He could have easily grabbed him at the mall if he really wanted, but even the cutest of puppies could be menacing if they wanted to be. 

Maybe he was waiting for something that Lance wasn't entirely aware of. 

And so Lance was here, pondering over a cup of peppermint tea and debating between two options he believed were the least dangerous. 

The fact that this happened after his talk with Pidge a few days ago made him wonder if this was set up. The timing was far too convenient, and the option was finalized as he gulped the tea down easily. 

“Thank you for the drink, Anne,” Lance announced as he placed some cash down. "Food and everything was good as always. Seeing your beautiful face is a plus," he said with a grin.

“Anything for you baby doll. Same time tomorrow?” She asked with a wink as he smiled. 

“Of course, how could I miss it?” he joked, waving and grabbing his jacket. He pulled out his headphones, placing them in and beginning to scroll through his phone for a song to play. He kept his sights down, but the presence of the big guy was far too noticeable for him to be completely oblivious. 

He wasn’t a great actor for nothing, though. 

Taking a ‘short cut’ down an alleyway, Lance pretended to walk faster due to how this should be a place avoided at night. It wasn’t smart to go through like this but he wasn’t playing smart on a surface level. Even if he did get caught by someone that wasn't the big guy, his gut was telling him it wouldn't end badly. 

When he finally felt someone grab him, he struggled, kicking his feet out but not trying to be much of a match for the big guy. Lance aimed for the other’s gut, slamming his heel into it and hearing the man _yelp_

Some fake kidnapper he was for exposing his voice that easily. 

“Please calm down! I’m just following bosses’ orders,” the man whined, Lance nearly doing so but continuing to struggle even as he was brought alongside a vehicle. He was shoved inside without much effort, the big guy entering beside him and looking more shocked at Lance’s relaxed state than the fact he had quite literally just been assaulted. “You...have quite the kick, man.” 

“Because he was waiting for it.” 

Lance looked up, raising a brow at the man sitting in the passenger seat. He turned, meeting Lance’s gaze with a look less than thrilled. Lance was glad the feeling was mutual. 

“Weren’t you, Lance?” 

“Impressive, you know my name,” Lance replied with a sardonic smile, leaning forward in his seat and raising his hands to his face as if interested. “So you were smart enough to see that I was caught on purpose,” he said, the big guy beside him offering a “huh?!” that he ignored. “So now that that is out of the way, mind answering why you kidnapped me in the first place, hm?”

“This is hardly kidnapping,” the stranger defended as Lance snorted. 

“So what is your definition. Humor me,” Lance said with a nod. 

“Kidnapping is when you take someone for ransom or to hurt them.”

“And this isn’t that? Wow! What a relief,” Lance said as he plopped back against his seat. 

“If you were so worried we would hurt you, why didn’t you fight harder? You surely could have,” the stranger attacked back. “Who doesn’t fight back to their fullest potential in a situation like this?” 

“Trust me, if you were actually a threat you wouldn’t have sent Hunk here to grab me,” Lance said while pointing a thumb at the man beside him. 

“Hunk?” both men said, the driver chuckling at the nickname. 

“What, are you both blind? You’re built like a brick house, my man. Own it, looks great,” Lance assured with a tap on the other's arm as he turned his attention to the driver. “And who is this?” 

“The person who organized this all, which I would like to apologize for before I talk to you about my offer,” the man said as he finally turned. Lance was surprised at the fact he was in a car with such attractive people, his brain immediately going off. The last time he'd been surrounded like this was when Lotor had cornered him with Acxa and... 

“You want to hire me.”

The three tensed up, Lance snapping his fingers. 

“So you weren’t sent from my friend, but you know me from someone’s word of mouth,” he said with a nod and a sound of understanding. “Huh, you could have just texted like a normal person! I’m happy to do business. So what kinda job is it? Catching a cheater? Getting out of a toxic relationship? Convincing someone you are already taken so they stop stalking you?”

“Do you ever shut the hell up?” Passenger seat hissed, Lance’s eyes flickering playfully. 

“Only when there is something to do that requires full attention,” Lance said easily as the stranger made a disgusted expression. “Like eating, or drinking, or even something more fun like—”

“Anyway,” the driver said with a bit of a flush on his cheeks. “The reason why I didn’t contact you by phone or text is because of possible tracing or backlogs that could be used against me in the future. As you’ve already figured out, I’ve heard you are good at what you do. So…my offer is as follows,” the man said with a clearing of his throat. 

Anxiety and nerves: not something that Lance saw often in people that were meant to have power at all times. 

“My father wants to marry me off,” the man admitted. Lance’s eyes went from playful to hard in an instant. If anyone noticed the change, they didn’t mention it. “He said I have a month to find someone to call a partner, or that I need to accept the marriage of convenience. The person he wants to marry me to is already seeing someone and needs an out as well.”

“Uh...Lance, the seats…” ‘Hunk’ spoke as Lance realized he was nearly tearing into them. 

Regaining composure, Lance nodded slowly. He thought about it for a few minutes, going through all possible options. “Alright,” he said slowly. 

“Alright?” 

“Alright, I hear you,” Lance clarified, “but I don’t think I would be much help here. I can’t accept it.”

“What?!” Passenger seat snapped, turning and reaching for Lance’s collar. Driver and Hunk did their best to keep him away, Lance not bothering to protect himself. If this person hit him, it was all the more reason to say no. “He asked you and even told you straight up and you still said no? You've got nerve.” 

“Because,” Lance said calmly despite his racing heart. “As much as I want to, this isn’t my field of expertise.”

The grip on his shirt loosened. He took that as a sign to continue. 

“I help catch cheaters. I’ve never pretended to date anyone. Dating you would not only plaster my face everywhere if we were seen together and put a target on my back but bring people I was ‘involved’ with from the woodwork to try and expose me. Not only would they look to destroy me, but anyone I was connected to which means you would probably have scandals the moment you announced me to anyone,” Lance said simply. “On top of that, the people I helped originally might feel some type of way about me going from an underground scholarship student to dating…” he trailed off, the driver clearing his throat. 

“Shiro. You can call me Shiro.”

“Shiro,” Lance finished. “So I don’t think this is a good idea. I'm sorry.”

“I don’t think you understand what you are doing,” Passenger seat insisted. “He…it _has_ to be you.”

“Why?” Lance asked with a raised brow. “Can’t find any other poor scholarship students that could use the money? That's kind of hard to believe.”

The car delved into silence, Shiro sighing deeply. Lance was almost sure he would be told to get out, but instead Shiro turned and stared at him with an expression that he couldn’t read. 

“If I let you go now…would you sell this story? Would you blackmail me or ask me for something to keep your mouth shut?”

Lance grew irritated. “Obviously not. What good would that do for anyone? I’m not that desperate for money,” he snapped. 

“Exactly,” Shiro said with a smile. “Which is why like Keith here said…it needs to be you. Anyone else and they would have easily been swayed by a few dollar signs and zeros. I heard you originally didn’t even charge for your services,” he pointed out as Lance flushed. 

“Ah, well, that—” 

“And that you only took the money after a while for school purposes!” Hunk added, Lance sinking into his seat. 

“Yeah well honestly—”

“You aren’t a piece of shit,” _Keith_ said easily, Lance wondering if that was meant to be a compliment. “So do us a favor and we’ll scratch your back in return. What’s to think about?”

What was there to think about?

“The scandals…” Lance said weakly, not having much else to cling to besides that aspect. 

“Ah, you won’t need to worry about that,” Shiro assured. “Because the only people that would be aware of us dating would be my family and some close friends. Tabloids tend to avoid my family at risk of…retaliation.”

Lance paused. “Retaliation? What are you the son of some gang leader? Or maybe an heir on par with the kid of Uplift Tech?” he joked, though when no one joined him he froze midlaughter.

“Someone say something and tell me which one of those options hit the nail on the head please,” Lance continued, Keith rolling his eyes. He held out his hand after turning to face Lance once again.

“Hi, I’m Keith Kogane, second son of CEO Shirogane.” 

Lance swallowed hard, the name not setting in completely until he turned to Shiro, the nickname now completing a puzzle he hadn’t even known he was meant to solve. The man held out his hand just as Keith had, smiling sheepishly. 

“I’m uh, Takashi Shirogane...first son and sole heir to Uplift Technologies.”

Lance looked at Hunk. 

“I’m just the bodyguard!” he promised, Lance feeling dizzy. 

“Shit,” Lance whispered, eyes ping-ponging between the siblings. 

“You gonna shake our hands or what, Mcclain?” 

Silently, Lance did as asked, not having much grip to firmly do so. No wonder they knew so much about him: they had the means and then some to get what little information there was on him without breaking a sweat. Lance suddenly felt a lot more nervous, keeping his chin up and expression cool.

“Tell me more, then. I’ll…think about it.”

Hunk did a ‘whoop!’ while Keith smirked and muttered an ‘of course you will’. 

Shiro was the only one that seemed relieved. “Thank you, Lance,” he said so honestly that it was hard to believe he would be the future CEO of a multibillion-dollar company. 

Lance just hoped this wasn’t going to bite him in the ass like he had a feeling it would. 

“Yeah, yeah...don’t mention it,” Lance said while raising a hand to his head and praying the dizziness would go away soon. He would need to find out just how much they knew later, but now he just needed to process the offer in its raw form.

Pidge was going to murder him, bring him back, then murder him again. 

Maybe he should ask for a casket as payment so he at least could go out in style. 


End file.
